ACM college challenge.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

A Challenge!

I was wondering if there are enough people who swam or attened ACM colleges who will be swimming at the state meet to set up a side challenge? I know that Matt S. wants anyone who swam at Lake Forest and will be swimming at state to get in touch with him. I told him that it might be kind of cool to see which of the small colleges have the most swimmers still swimming and competing in Illinois.

I know that most of the people I know who swam at or even went to Knox don't live in Illinois. I would like to know if there are people from Knox, Monmouth or the other small colleges (even those colleges that aren't in Illinois) in the conference who still competively swim.

If anyone who swam at Knox is still swimming, let me know, especially if you were there during the mid 1970s when Knox was good or inthe early 1980s.

Let's set the pool on fire- Praire Fire!

[NKMD]

Go Wilcats!!!!!!!

NU ROCKS

I think you need to include all alumi, not previous students who swam for the school. I know a lot of great Master swimmers who didn't swim in college.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

Nadine,

As you might know Matt S. & I are looking into doing a relay of the English Channel. I told him that we should look into doing some sort of competition because we went to colleges that competted against each other. Me Knox, him Lake Forest. I know some guys who swam in high school who went to Knox but didn't swim there, but they don't live in Illinois. Your idea is very good to get all who might still swim.

If anyone who went to Knox and will likely be swimming at master state's wants to messsage me-please do so.

This weekend is our conference's meet. I'm not sure where Knox will end up. We might have the smallest team the school has ever had. But we did just get $10 million from a dead lawyer. That's four months after they spent the 1.5 million to build a fitness center instead of a pool it was raised for!!!!!!

People who went to Coe, Grinnell, Monmouth, Knox, Lake Forest, Cornell, St. Olaf, Luther, Rippon and any other who used to be in the old ACM (I think that Knox is the highest ranked by USNews and World Reports which is probably why we can't win a sporting event) contact me if you plan on swimming at state or are still swimming anywhere in the world.

[Matt S]

Nadine, Nadine, Nadine,

Is it not enough that you are younger, smarter, more attractive and more hooked into masters swimming than Craig and I put together? Is it not enough that you could swim a 400 IM all by yourself, and still beat the pants off of a 400 medley relay composed of me and Craig and two others of our ilk? Is it necessary for you to throw down the gauntlet on behalf of WILDCAT MASTERS, the host of the meet and team that regularly runs away with a title against all comers, let alone a pack of fragmented Div III has-beens who would be lucky to get four swimmers to form the aforementioned 400 medley relay that you could thrash all by yourself?

Let's review a little history of Illinois collegiate swimming, shall we? Back in my day we had an invitational swim meet that was swam a week or two before Conference Championships. It was called the Illinois Private College Championships, and it was open to any school regardless of Division from Illinois that was not a State University. It's primary claim to fame was that you won different colored t-shirts rather than medals depending on where you placed. We Div III benchwarmers looked forward to a fine collection of white on piss-yellow attire at the close of the meet. Sadly, the meet was discontinued during my career as it became painfully obvious to everyone concerned that Bradley would win, Northwestern would finish second, and the Rockfords, Lake Forests and Knoxs would scramble for the loose change points that would decide the margin of victory in the Div III ranks. Moreover, it would contribute precisely...nothing to anyone's preparation for their actual Conference Championship (except Rockford, that really had no other meet between dual meets and NAIA Nationals).

Your proposal to have me and a few of my compadres, who can barely form two relays at our Homecoming Alumni Meet, take on all of the Northwestern varsity swimming alumni AND all the masters swimmers who attended Northwestern, would recreate IPCs without the dramatic tension associated with Deuce Bigelow styled t-shirts. I leave the rest of the script as an exercise for the reader.

However, all you Grinnell slackers out there (YES, I MEAN YOU!) consider this a challenge. I know how dearly you love to show up meets with a team twice a talented and with 3-4 times as many swimmers as any other team in the building (in the MAC we call this the Conference Championship meet. Grinnell has done for our conference what Kenyon has done for Div III swimming in general. Yes, it is that ugly.) Care to make the trip to Chicago in April.? C'mon, you know you want to, and it must be years for some of you since you last thrashed us senseless. Don't make me reproduce the lyrics to "I'm an onion."

Lastly, some of you younger alumni might not realize that at one point in time Carleton College and the Univ. of Chicago were members of the MCAC. Hey Craig-meister, I think U of C might be able to give Knox a run for its money in the academic department. It's just my opinion, but I digress...

So what say you? We few. We happy few. We myopic band of Div III brothers and sisters too stupid to realize when our time has past...

Matt

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

Matt,

I just sent to you a big e-mail but-I'm not sure where U of C stand in the rating by US News & World Reports. I do know that they have a much better pool than does Knox.

Anyone who went to a difficult college and did any sports knows how rough it can be. I love listening to people talk about how hard they worked at certain Illinios state universities.

I wonder if anyone swam at a MWc/ACM college and swam still is in Illinois. There has got to be others than just the two of us. I'd even like to hear from Illinois Weslyan, Bradley (doesn't have a program any more) or Augustana.

[BillS]

I was waiting for you guys to mention the A team. I was supposed to swim for old Augustana, but bailed because I didn't like the pool much my freshman year and I decided to concentrate on beer drinking. We built a new pool while I was there, but I was done with swimming by then, I thought forever.

I graduated in '82 and couldn't wait to get out of the Midwest. I don't miss it even a little.

I do wish I'd swam at Augie, though. As I recall, the team was pretty good back then.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

Now Augie is a football school. They've done very well for several years. The pool isn't bad, and they've had some luck. The best thing about Augie is that they can beat Illinois Weslyan in many sports!

When I was a kid, we would drive up to Rock Island, eat at Bishops, and go to an Augie football . My father & the minister of the church I grew up going to were both first generation. My Dad's grew up speaking Swedish. They loved Augie. I think I went to every homecoming in the late 60s & early 70s. When I told my father that not only was I not going there but also not becoming a Lutheran minister, he cried. He retired my freshman year at college. I tried toget him to go there then but he woudln't.

[BillS]

Augie was quite the football powerhouse. They won the Amos Alonzo Stagg bowl (Div. III championship) in 4 consecutive years in '83 - '87, and I think had the longest consecutive win streak in college football for quite a while.

I can't recall Bishop's, but I do miss the shakes at Whitey's and the beers at Lee's and the Hilltop Tavern.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

Whitey's is terrible. Full of fat!!! Bishops used to have a chocolate pie with whipped cream and chocolate shavings. My dad would buy two to take home. He got one all to himself, and the other we had to share. Bishops was a cafiteria. I think the Hilltop Tap is still there. I was there in the early 90s when I was visitng while I still lived in DC. that area has really changed. It was falling apart and becoming run down. Then peole started to buy the big old homes and renovating them. When I would tell peole about the Weyehauser(sp) mansion and the bald eagles on the river, noone in DC woudl believe me.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

Bill,

There was a swim meet at Illinois Weslyan. I guess they just beat auggie for the conference title. Auggie made it to the Div III March Madness that sarts on March 12. If all goes well, the two colleges (Ill Weslyan, and DePauw) I hate the mostwill play against each other inthe second round. Hopefully auggie will go very far.

[WaterLogged]

I swam at Bradley -- '78-'82 ... when we kicked ass in Illinois. Used to walk away with the Private College Championships -- until we outgrew them. Before t-shirts, the awards were different colored "snitz" bags -- little duffle bags. Didn't know Knox has had anyone swimming since the Muro boys of the early/mid-70s (swam age group with them in Waukegan).

Been back in the pool the last 5 years, swimming at UIC now with Chicago masters. State meet is probably the only meet I'll do this year, mostly due to laziness, though I've done a few Nationals. See you at my home pool in April.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

NOt only does Knox still have a few swimmers, but Bradley has NONE!!!! Did you swim aganist Illinois State? A woman who is like a sister to me married a guy who swma there. they graduated in 1980. He is Steve Summers. He went to Urbana High School.

We only got 100 pnts at conference. In this terms alum magazine there is a letter from Mike Muro. He is coaching at Zion. I've tried to reach him but so far unable to do so.

The private college meet was a terrible idea. It probably did more to stop swimming in the really small schools than any other aspect such as funding, number of high school swimmers attending, etc.

I will be at state for Friday & Saturday. I woudl really like to see how many people who went to private colleges in Illinois are still swimming. all of my friends who swam at college went to state schools and don't swim any more.

[Matt S]

Craig,

I've gotten a ton of jollies poking fun at the old IPC meet. However, the worst I had to say about it is that it was the sound of one hand clapping as Bradley and Northwestern ran away from schools and swim teams a mere fraction of their size.

How do you figure one cheezey meet got small college swim programs dropped from varsity status? Or, was I not understanding the irony in your tone or an attempt to gratuitously give Waterlogged a hard time?

BTW, I hate to build up drama and then no-show... However, I will be out of town the weekend of the State Meet. I figure I can swim the 1000 on Thurs evening, but that would be about it.

Matt

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

I meant it as a joke, mostly. I know that at Knox, many people in the admin at the time saw how uninterested students were in swimming, and it changed the way the college looked at it. I don't think that Knox has had a full-time swimming coach/instructure since the early 80s.

Oddly, water polo, a sport that we started to play inthe 80s at Knox, is now bringing students to the pool. And a bad, little pool it is.

[WaterLogged]

And I took it as a joke -- because that's what the Bradley program became just before it was disbanded. After Coach Spink left due to health reasons, it became a "club team" -- which I take to mean they didn't take being competitive seriously any more. It sucked to see a team that once competed at the level of most division I schools in the midwest and was undefeated in dual meets in '80-81 disintegrate into oblivion. That was the point I stopped giving the school any money.

And we even tried water polo in the early 80s -- the only match I played in just happened to be at Knox! It really is a toilet of a pool (no offense).

[iwudori]

I swam 3/4 of a season at Illinois Wesleyan my freshman year. I've swam in the past 2 state meets, but might have to miss out on this year's... There are a few other folks from IWU that occasionally compete as well.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

Originally posted by WaterLogged
And I took it as a joke -- because that's what the Bradley program became just before it was disbanded. After Coach Spink left due to health reasons, it became a "club team" -- which I take to mean they didn't take being competitive seriously any more. It sucked to see a team that once competed at the level of most division I schools in the midwest and was undefeated in dual meets in '80-81 disintegrate into oblivion. That was the point I stopped giving the school any money.

And we even tried water polo in the early 80s -- the only match I played in just happened to be at Knox! It really is a toilet of a pool (no offense).

That toilet of a pool actually produced a DivIII All-American. When I was growing up, many of the schools that are presently inthe MVC were very strong swimming schools. Now I don't think anyof them are.

Now the water polo tournament is held at the Y. A somewhat better pool.

I think that it is amazing that Peoria can't put together a strong masters team.

[craiglll@yahoo.com]

For anyone with any Knox connection----- It is flunk Day! Everyone stop what ever you are doing and get very drunk. Flunk Day is one of the greatest college spring festivals on any campus. At 5:30 the bells go off andf the Friars run around the few dorms and scream "Flunk Day." The President of the college is the person who decides whenit will be. No students are supposed to know. Everyone runs to the gizmo with liquor (hidden or course) and dances their hearts out. It is a day of partying and joy.

HAPPY FLUNK DAY!!!!